Golf club carrying device



Jan. 5, 1965 F. K. UPHAM u GOLF CLUB CARRYING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 30, 1962 INVENTOR FRANK K. UPHAM A TTOR'NE YS Jan. 5, 1965 F. K. UPHAM n GOLF cws CARRYING DEVICE A TTORNE Y5 2 t Y e m e h T S NM EA 5 VH T NP w 1U h S K 44W 2% K N A R F Y/W B Fr 3 o B 2 6 92 12 O 3 w u J d e l 1 F strap or which were carried for them by caddies.

dhdfidd Patented Jan. 5, 1965 ice 3,164,393 GULF CLUB CARRYING DEVICE Frank K. Uphazn II, NAS, Corpas Christi, Tex. Filed Italy 30, 1962, her. No. 213,847 9 Claims. (Q2. 28ii-4'7.19)

This invention relates to golf club caddy devices and more particularly relates to an improved golf club rack which is attachable to a cart and which is capable of retaining the golf clubs in the rackboth when it is on the golf cart and when it hasbeen removed.

For many years it was customary for golfers to keep their playing clubs in golf bags which they either carried withthem onthe golf course by means of a shoulder In recent years, however, a strong trend has developed in the direction of using carts on which conventional golf bags may be mounted and which the player pushes or pulls along with him. More recently racks for retaining golf clubs have achieved popularity with the increase in use of wheeled carts for carrying clubs. The racks permit the clubs to be spread out for easy selection and permit separation of the clubs as contrasted to jumbling the clubs together as was the usual practice with the golf bags in the past.

One of the difficulties experienced with racks heretofore used has been the loss of clubs when the carts or vehicles have traveled over rough terrain. Another inconvenience has been the lack of storage facilities for balls and tees or, at least, the lack of storage for balls and tees in a convenient fashion.

According to the present invention, there is provided a golf club rack which is attachable to a conventional golf club caddy vehicle or cart but which is also provided with its own handle for handling as a separate unit. The golf club holding device of this invention provides a unique magnetic means for securing the clubs in position despite the jolting encountered when the cart of vehicle travels over rough terrain. In addition, the unit is provided with a unique ball carrying arrangement which permits the selection of any oneof several balls. The handle for the device is also unique in nature inthat it provides for convenient storage of golf tees.

In addition to providing magnetic mounting for a series of clubs, the rack of this invention also provides for tube mounting of woods with a novel system for securing the caps for the clubs whereby the caps retain the clubs in position in the'tubes and whereby the caps are restrained against loss after theclubs have been re-' moved from the tubes.

It is accordingly a primary object of thepresent invention to provide an im roved type of golf club rack which is attachable to a caddy vehicle. I

It is another object of the invention to provide an im proved golf club rack having a unique magnetic mounting means for securing the golf clubs in position for easy selection for use.

It is another object of the invention to provide a golf club rack of the foregoing type which has a collapsible handle which also serves as a container for tees.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a golf club rack of the foregoing type having a unique means for mounting golf balls which permits the selection of any one of several balls without having to remove unwanted balls before getting the selected ball.

These and further objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon reference to the following specification and claims and appended drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a golf rack-constructed according to this invention attachable to a conventional golf caddy vehicle;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of the golf rack of FIGURE I removed from the caddy vehicle;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical elevation, partly in section, of the rack of FIGURE 2 taken substantially along the line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal section taken substantially along the line 44 of FIGURE 2; 1

I FIGURE 5 is a vertical elevation, partly in section,

showing the ball rack and the tee container; and FIGURE 6 is a perspective detail showing the magnet mounting.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the golf cart of the invention is indicated generally at It! and ,is-removably fastened to a golf caddy vehicle of a conventional type generally indicated at 12. The golf caddy vehicle may be of any conventional construction, the vehicle in FIGURE 1 comprising a pair of wheel supporting brackets 14 have wheels 16 pivotally mounted thereon. A handle 18 is attached to the wheel brackets by means of a bar 2% which ex tends'downwardly parallel to the rack in the rear of the rack as it is shown in FIGURE 1. i The rack may be rem'ovably secured to the cart in any suitable fashion, such as by means of U-bolts, plates and butterfly nuts securing a vertical member in the rack to the tube 2t).

Turning to FIGURES l, 2, and 3, the rack of the invention consists of an elongated vertical bar 22 which may be formed of aluminum for lightness and resistance to rust or corrosion. Attached to the vertical bar 22 are a pair of angles 24 and 26 which are also preferably formed of aluminum. The angles 24 and 26 extend parallel to one another and substantially perpendicular to the bar 22 and may be secured thereto in any suitable manner, such as by bolts '78 (FIGURE 5). In order to provide rigidity for the securement of the angles 24 and 26 to the bar 22, pairs of heavy wire diagonal braces 23 and 30 are secured to the angles and to the bars by means of screw and nut assemblages 32.

Mounted at the lower end of the bar 22 is a metal tray 34 which has a bottom wall 36, side walls 38 and end walls 49. The rearmost side wall 38 may be attached to the lower end of the bar 22 by means of a nut and bolt and the tray may be braced into rigid position by means of diagonal heavy wire braces 40 which are secured by means of screw and nut assemblages 42. The tray 34 contains a receiver for club heads'which may com prise a plastic foam material 44 having indentations 46 for receiving the heads of the clubs.

Att-ached .to the rear of angles 24 and 26 are a series of tubes 48, preferably of plastic, which are secured in position by means of U-shaped wires 50 whose ends are fastened to the angles by meansof screw .and nut assemblages 52, as isbest seen in FIGURE 4. The lower ends of the tubes 4-8 are closed by the floor 36 of the tray 3-4 which extends back beyond rearwall 38 and is flanged over the back of the tubes 48 as shown at 54 in FIGURE 3. v

Referringto FIGURE 5, the rack of the invention is provided with a foldable" handle 56 which comprises a tube having its outer end closed by means of a rubber cap 58. The other end of the handle may be closed by meansgof a friction fittedwooden plug 60 which is axially grooved along one peripheral side to frictionally hold a bent heavy wire 62 in position. The handle is fastened to the bar 22 by means of a pivot screw 64 which is received within the ears 66 of a U-shaped bracket 68 which is bolted or otherwise secured to the bar 22, such as by bolt and screw assemblages 70.

The handle 56 may be collapsed into a position where it is out of the way for use of the golf club rack when I a of the clubs to the rack.

counterclockwise rotation of the handle 56 after it has reached a position substantially normal to the bar 22. The cap 58 may obviously be removed when the handle I is in this normal position foreasy access to the tees 72 which may be contained in the handle.

I Referring again to FIGURE 5, a unique ball holder ,is provided on the rack of this invention and consists and the spring 38. The lowermost golf ball 84 is sup-. ported on the bracket 76'. Any of the four golf balls illustrated may easily be removed by distending the spring 80 and selecting whichever ball is desired from the series of balls. Thisparticul-ar ball mounting arrangement has been found extremely" convenient in that it permits the selection of any one of a series of Visible balls without having to remove other balls before arriving at the ball desired.

Referring to FIGURE 2, each of the angles 24 and 26 is provided with a series of magnet assemblages 86 which-are disposed in vertical alignment so as to'hold in positionmetal-shafted golf clubs of the type illustrated at as. Referring to FIGURE 6, each magnet assemblage consists of a rectangular magnet 9t having substantially parallel pole faces in engagement with plates 92 and $4 which serve as pole pieces. These plates are held onto the magnets by magnetic atttraction but are also secured in position by means, of a wire 96 which extends through an aperture 98 through the plates and the magnet. The plates 92 and 94 have a pair of parallel edges ltltl and 102' which are spaced from the magnets-9t} and which are adapted to engage the shaft of the club 88.; i

Themagnets and'pole pieces are secured in position between a pair of angles 104 and 1% which are fastened to the angles 24- and 26 by bolt and nut assemblages 1%. The angles 104 and 106 are apertnred at 110 to receive a cotter pin 112 which extends through ,the apertures 11d and the apertures 98 in the plates we and 102 and magnet 90. The apertures 98 in the plates 92, and 9d are deliberately made considerably larger than the cotter pin 112 so as to provide mobility for the" magnets and plates for a purpose presently to be described; Also mounted on the side of the angles 104 and 1% are apair of guide wires 11.4 and 116 which are held in position by the bolt and nut assemblages 108.

The clubs, such as clubitid, maybe readily placed in position on the'rack between the guide wiresll l and 116 V whereupon the movably mounted magnet 'assernblages move into engagement with the shaft of the clubs.

This mobility of the magnet assemblages, plus the use of the pole pieces with para lel edges spaced from the magnet, provides for easy attachment of the magnet assemblages to vthe clubs andpreventsevery jolt and jar which is received by the vehicle from being transmitted to the clubs so as to-provide a firmer attachment In order to provide an even more secure mounting for the club when the rack isnot in use in playing golf, a pair of stretchable-straps 118 and 120 having looped ends 122 are provided on the angles 24 and 26. As may be seen in FIGURE 2, the upper loop of the strap 118 is secured to shoot 124' on the angle 24. Referring to FIGURES Zfan'd 4, there is provided at the centers of the anglesz l and 26 downwardly descending 'fingers 126 which are secured by bolt and nut assemblages to the angles.

Referring to FIGURE 4, the stretchable straps 118 and 124) are used to secure the club shafts in position when'the rack is not in use by hooking the loops 122 at the end of the straps over the 4g hooks 124 and 3228 at opposite ends of the angles, with the center of the straps being held behind the pins 126 to securely hold all clubs in position despite the roughest jolting.

Referring to FiGURES l and 2, the upper end of the bar 22 is provided with a pin on which are mounted a series of springs 13%, only one of which is shown. The springs 13% have attached to their other ends conventional club bags or caps 132 which may be placed over the club ends thereby holding the clubs in position in the tubes 4-3. When the caps are removed from the clubs 18, the springs 13% prevent loss of the caps.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the rack of the invention may be loaded with clubs by inserting the woods and any additional irons desired into the tubes 43 and snapping the caps 132 over the heads of these clubs. The irons are then secured in position by simply placing the club heads in the slots 46 in the foam as in the tray 3- and engaging the shafts with the magnets by simply moving the shafts between the wire guides and i116, whereupon the magnet assemblages will move into engagement with the shafts. T he clubs may be then locked into a non-playing position for transportation by hooking the straps 118 and Ill L l over the clubs and behind the pins 12-6 as is best seen in FEGURE 4. The handle may be extended to its position perpendicular to the rod 22 for carrying the rack and the handle may then be folded into its out-of-the-way position as illustrated in FEGURE 5 for storage.

When it is desired to use the rack in play, the caps 132 may be removed from the clubs in the tubes as and the straps :rs and 123 may be released at one end as shown in FIGURE 1 to permit easy and ready selection of any club held by the magnet assemblages. A supply of balls is provided at the ready disposition of the golfer with convenient access to any ball in a fully visually displayed group. in like manner, there is easy access to a supply of tees in the handle as.

The rack of this invention may be attached to any standard type of golf caddy vehicle or cart and provides for convenient selection of both balls and clubs in the manner previously described. The unit is economical in construction, utilizing readily available materials, and

is rugged and durable so as to Withstand rough usage.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in .ll respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the app-ended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and described to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

l. A golf club holding device comprising a first elongated mernber, second and third elongated members at tached to said first member and spaced in substantially parallel relation to one another, said second and third elongated members being positioned at substantially right angles relative to said first member and being attached thereto at positions proximate to their midpoints, a first series of magnet means carried by said second member on a first lateral side thereof and a second series of mag net means carried by said third member on a first lateral side thereof, and golf club head receiving means attached to said first member at a spaced position from said secend and third members and substantially parallel thereto for receiving the heads of golf clubs having shafts removably held in position on said holding device by said first and second series of magnet means, said magnet means comprising individual movably mounted magnets for each club shaft on both said second and third members, each said magnet having a pair of golf club engaging ferromagnetic pole pieces attachcd thereto, and each magnet having substantially parallel surfaces, said pole pieces comprising metal plates engaging said surfaces and having substantially linear and parallel club engaging heads spaced from said magnet.

2. A golf club holding device as set out in claim 1 wherein pairs of substantially parallel plates are attached to said second and third members, each said magnet and its pole pieces being movably fastened to a pair of such plates by means extending transversely of said plates and through apertures in said magnets, said pole pieces and said plates.

3. A golf club holding device as set out in claim 1 wherein said golf club head receiving means extends primarily from one lateral side of said first elongated member and including golf club shaft receiving means on a second lateral side of said second and third elongated members, said shaft receiving means comprising a plurality of U-shaped elements having their terminal portions individually secured to said second and third elongated members by fastening means thereon, said U-shaped members receiving in their bight portions individual tubular elements extending transversely of said second and third elongated members for carrying golf club shafts therein, said elements being received by individual U- shaped members on both said second and third members.

4. A golf club holding device as set out in claim 1 including a pair of substantially parallel elongated members adapted to receive golf club shafts therein extending transversely of said second and third members, said pair of members being substantially parallel to said first member and adjacent thereto, and an elongated stretchable member attached to said first elongated member and extending substantially parallel to said first member and to said pairof members; said first member, portions of the external peripheries of said pair of members and said stretchable member comprising a container for golf balls whereby a series of aligned golf balls are held in position by said stretchable member.

5. A golf club holding device comprising a first elongated member, second and third elongated members at tached to said first member and spaced from one another,

a plurality of substantially parallel tubes extending transversely of and attached to said second and third elongated members for carrying golf clubs therein, two of said tubes being adjacent said first member, a pair of spaced members extending from said first member between said two of said tubes, and at least one elongated stretchable member attached to said last named spaced members, and extending substantially parallel to said first member and said two of said tubes; said first member, said two of said tubes and said stretchable member being disposed to contain golf balls therebetween, and, with the lowermost of said last named spaced members, comprising a container for golf balls whereby a series of aligned golf balls is bottomed on said lowermost member and held in position between said tubes by said stretchable member.

6. A golf club holding device as set out in claim 5 wherein means are provided on one lateral side of said second and third members for removably attaching said tubes individually to said members and wherein additional attaching means are provided on the other lateral side of said second and third members for removably holding the shafts of golf clubs thereto.

7. A golf club holding device as set out in claim 6 wherein said additional attaching means comprise first magnet means carried by said second member and second magnet means carried by said third member and wherein said device includes further golf club head receiving means attached to said first member in a spaced position from said first and second members for reciving the heads of golf clubs removably held in position on said holding device by said first and second magnet means.

8. A golf club holding device as set out in claim 7 wherein said magnet has substantially parallel pole surfaces and metal plates comprising pole pieces engaging said surfaces, each said magnet further including substantially linear and parallel club shaft engaging edges spaced from said magnets, said pole pieces being fastened to said members by substantially parallel plates'attached to said members and extending substantially parallel to and outward of said plates, each said magnet and its pole pieces being movably fastened to a pair of such plates by means extending transversely of said plates and through apertures in said magnets, said pole pieces and said plates, said golf club holding device further including a pair of wire guide members associated with each magnet and associated with, but separate from, said members, said guide members guiding said clubs into engagement with said magnet means.

9. A golf club holding device as set out in claim 8 wherein said first elongated member is adapted to be detachably secured to a wheeled vehicle.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,718,952 7/29 Fischer ISO-1.5 1,957,577 5/34 Chapman ISO-1.5 2,024,484 12/35 Smith -1.5 2,480,597 8/49 Nelson.

2,570,504 10/51 Van House.

2,578,409 12/51 Evans et al.

2,648,545 8/53 Cassidy.

2,662,776 12/53 Hurst.

2,753,189 7/56 Conroy et al.

2,754,130 7/56 Procter.

2,761,691 9/56 George.

2,875,324 2/59 Camp et al. 248206 2,880,012 3/59 Wilson 21l-60 X 3,058,504 10/62 Powers 1501.5

A. HARRY LEVY, Primary Examiner. BENJAMIN HERSH, PHILIP ARNOLD, Examiners. 

1. A GOLF CLUB HOLDING DEVICE COMPRISING A FIRST ELONGATED MEMBER, SECOND AND THIRD ELONGATED MEMBERS ATTACHED TO SAID FIRST MEMBER AND SPACED IN SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL RELATION TO ONE ANOTHER, SAID SECOND AND THIRD ELONGATED MEMBERS BEING POSITIONED AT SUBSTANIALLY RIGHT ANGLES RELATIVE TO SAID FIRST MEMBER AND BEING ATTACHED THERETO AT POSITIONS PROXIMATE TO THEIR MIDPOINTS, A FIRST SERIES OF MAGNET MEANS CARRIED BY SAID SECOND MEMBER ON A FIRST LATERAL SIDE THEREOF AND A SECOND SERIES OF MAGNET MEANS CARRIED BY SAID THIRD MEMBER ON A FIRST LATERAL SIDE THEREOF, AND GOLF CLUB HEAD RECEIVING MEANS ATTACHED TO SAID FIRST MEMBER AT A SPACED POSITION FROM SAID SECOND AND THIRD MEMBERS AND SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL THERETO FOR RECEIVING THE HEADS OF GOLF CLUBS HAVING SHAFTS REMOVABLY HELD IN POSITION ON SAID HOLDING DEVICE BY SAID FIRST AND SECOND SERIES OF MAGNET MEANS, SAID MAGNET MEANS COMPRISING INDIVIDUAL MOVABLY MOUNTED MAGNETS FOR EACH CLUB SHAFT ON BOTH SAID SECOND AND THIRD MEMBERS, EACH SAID MAGNET HAVING A PAIR OF GOLF CLUB ENGAGING FERROMAGNETIC POLE PIECES ATTACHED THERETO, AND EACH MAGNET HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL SURFACES, SAID POLE PIECES COMPRISING METAL PLATES ENGAGING SAID SURFACES AND HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY LINEAR AND PARALLEL CLUB ENGAGING HEADS SPACED FROM SAID MAGNET. 